Search - Sir Thomas Beecham :: Conducts Handel/Dvorak/Bizet/+

Choice bits and pieces from 1933-39

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 03/15/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Beecham was porbably at his peak before the war when he led the London Phil. and was extensively recorded. Thanks to the limits of 78 sides, the bulk of his output consisted of pieces that were less than 5 min. long. That's true here, the only longer work--Borodin's Polovetsian Dances--lasting 10 min. The state of recorded sound was variable in the Thirties, even more so when you consider that a company like Dutton must relie on surviving commerical disks. So one should expect everything from dim, boxy sound to surprisingly full and rich sound. All the surfaces are impeccably quiet, however, which makes it elatively easy to adjust one's ears. Beecham cnducts everything with great panache, but I'm not sure I am fond enough of light-classics snippets (15 in all) to care."